MedTech + Art

I’ve never really thought of medical technology as being art even when it was right in front of me. After Professor Vesna mentioned the Bodies exhibit, I remembered that I had actually seen one many years ago. It was an extremely interesting and cool experience but even then I didn’t even realize I was in an art exhibit and not a science one. This lecture has opened up my eyes to the coming together of art and medical science and made me realize the wide world of possibilities which many of the artist mentioned in the lecture have taken advantage of.

Kevin Warwick’s project to surgically implant a silicon chip transponder inside of his body reminded me of the robotics unit. I explored the way in which people respond to robotics and art being formed that led me to believe that most people find the future of robotics to be frightening. If this is the case, then it is even more interesting how Warwick made the choice to merge himself and a computer together. Man and machine being combined is what most people fear, yet Warwick chooses to use himself for the experiment. This shows how some people are willing to sacrifice their own bodies for the sake of science and art.

The trailer for The Island helped me relate to this unit because it shows how a future merging of art and medical science could lead to a even more complicated society where people use clones to help themselves medically. This also brings up the question that if cloning became a reality how would artists ethically use this. Using your own body in an experiment or art piece may be okay because it is your choice but would using a clone be seen as wrong?

Works Cited

"Bodies the Exhibition." Premiere Exhibitions. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.

"Cyborg 1.0." Cyborg 1.0. The University of Reading, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.

Edgar, James. "'Captain Cyborg': The Man behind the Controversial Turing Test Claims." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.

"The Island Trailer." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2015.

Vesna. "ONLINE COURSE LOGIN." Course Login. UCOnline, n.d. Web. 27 Apr